RCB pull-off 10-run win after another Russell carnage
Kolkata, Apr 19: Royal Challengers Bangalore eked out a 10-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders for only their second success of the season after Andre Russell and Nitish Rana nearly pulled off the impossible in the Indian Premier League here on Friday.
Needing 113 runs off the last six overs, Russell (65 off 25) and Rana (85 not out off 46) almost got their team over the line but Moeen Ali managed to defend 24 in the final over.
The tense climax came after Virat Kohli smashed 100 off 58 balls for his fifth century in the IPL and first this season. RCB hammered 91 runs off the last five overs to reach 213 for four, their highest total this year.
Ali's 66 off 28 while batting alongside Kohli also proved crucial for RCB's cause as they finally managed to defend.
The win keeps RCB mathematically alive in the tournament while KKR suffered their fourth loss in as many games.
Following a Kohli special, it was the turn of swing king Dale Steyn to land some body blows on the opposition. Playing his first game of the season after having come in as a replacement, the South African great removed Chris Lynn and Shubman Gill to leave KKR reeling at 33 for three in five overs.
Russell tried his best to pull off another improbable chase for KKR in the company of Nitish Rana but this time it wasn't to be.
Earlier, it was Ali who gave the much needed oxygen to their innings, smashing six sixes and five fours to seize momentum after a slow start. Kohli and Ali shared 90 runs off 43 balls and there was no looking back after Ali's assault.
The match swung in the 16th over when Kuldeep Yadav bled 27 runs with Ali going berserk, smashing the star India spinner for three sixes and two boundaries. The chinaman ended with figures of 1/59 in four overs.
Kohli, who scored his first 50 off 40 balls, changed gears in the second half of his innings. Such was his domination that Kohli took just 17 balls for his second fifty.
Put in, RCB got off to an ordinary start and the absence of AB de Villiers, who was indisposed following dehydration, was felt very much.
Kohli mistimed the ball with a couple of inside-edges to the boundary, while his left-handed opening partner Parthiv Patel (11 off 11) had a hit-and-miss stay before falling to Sunil Narine inside the powerplay.
In the middle of all this, RCB sent in Akshdeep Nath (13 off 15) at number three keeping the in-form Ali in waiting. RCB made only 42 inside the powerplay.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 213 for 4 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 100, Moeen Ali 66 ; Sunil Narine 32/1).
Kolkata Knight Riders: 203 for 5 in 20 overs. (Nitish Rana 85, Andre Russell 65; Dale Steyn 40/2).
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Nitish likely to file nominations for Rajya Sabha polls
Patna (PTI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to file nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha polls on Thursday, according to JD(U) leaders.
Kumar may file his nomination papers at the state assembly around 11 am, they said.
BJP president Nitin Nabin will also file his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha polls.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to be present at the time of filing of the nomination papers.
State minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary had confirmed on Wednesday that Kumar was considering entering the Rajya Sabha, which would bring to an end his tenure as the longest-serving chief minister of the state.
With Kumar likely to step down after leading the ruling NDA to a landslide victory in the 2025 assembly elections, a BJP leader is expected to take over the top post.
If that happens, Bihar will get its first BJP chief minister -- the only Hindi heartland state where the party has not held the office so far.
However, an official announcement regarding Kumar's entry into the Upper House of Parliament is yet to be made.
Five Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar will go to the polls on March 16.
The elections will be held as the tenures of JD(U)'s Harivansh Narayan Singh and Ram Nath Thakur, RJD's Prem Chand Gupta and Amarendra Dhari Singh, and RLM's Upendra Kushwaha are ending.
As per the latest tally in the state legislature, all five seats would now go to the ruling NDA.
Before filing his nomination papers, the BJP president will visit the revered Mahavir Temple here and offer prayers.
